Five Christmas Tree Ideas To Try This Year

Have a tree you don’t love?  Use these Christmas tree ideas to help create the tree that dreams are made of.

This is the story of a long forgotten tree and how it got its life back again.  You see, I have a collection of Christmas trees in my attic.  Like several…but the problem is none of them were the flocked prettiness I have been seeing everywhere and fell head over heels for.

Now, you might be wondering why I would have so many trees in my attic?  Well, hubby used to work for a major national home rental chain rehabbing  houses.  For some reason, when people move they leave their trees in the attic and my husband, like lost puppies, would bring them home.  Bless his heart.  None of the trees were spectacular.  Last year I pulled this tree out and set it up in our master bedroom.  It wasn’t awful awful…just not great.  Here it is.

Tip 1:  Rework What you Have

When I priced a new flocked tree I had to make a decision…spend the considerable amount of money to get a high quality one or try to rework the one I had.  You know me, never one to shy away from a project I decided to flock the tree myself.  It was sooooo easy…but sooooo messy.  I think it was worth the mess though.

I used this Sno-Bond Flock (affiliate link) to rework this tree.

I purchased a plastic tarp, kitchen gloves, and a small culindar from the Dollar Tree.  I also used an old spray bottle filled with water.

1. Spread the plastic tarp in your garage where you are out of the wind.
2. Put the bottom portion of your tree on the tarp (in the stand) and fluff the branches like you would do if you were going to decorate it.
3. Spray a small section of branches with a mist of water.
4. Sprinkle the flocking on by putting it in the culindar and shaking it to fall on your branches like snow
5. Spray with another mist of water making sure all flocking gets wet.
6. Add the next portion of your tree on and repeat, repeat with the top.
7. Let it dry overnight until the flocking becomes hard.

Tip:  When I did the upper portions of the tree I went back and gave a light mist to the bottom of the tree again since some new flocking will fall down on it while you flock the top.

Flocking this tree has saved it.  I’m so happy I did this.

Tip 2:  Use a Variety of Picks and Sprays

I knew this tree was a little lacking in certain areas and I wanted it to have a fuller look.  I decided to go pretty neutral with my picks and sprays using some sparkly sprays, pinecones, white berry sprays, and white glittered branches.  By keeping it neutral I can change the whole look of the tree in the future without making the heavy investment in the picks and sprays.

 

I found a lot of my sprays at Tuesday Morning.  I always find unique faux florals there and the prices are most times better than the big box craft stores…even with the discount coupons.  For this tree I used 25 sprays.  I had the white berry sprays from a previous year so the investment wasn’t quite as bad, but knowing I won’t have to rework it year after year is worth a lot to me.

Tip 3:  A Neutral Base

As I get older I tend to skew more toward the neutral color scheme.  Maybe its past mistakes that have taught me, or, maybe its because I feel most peaceful in a home with neutral tones.  Whatever the reason, neutral seems to be my thing.

I took out all my ornaments and sorted them by color.  I put all the ornaments I felt were neutral together (white, gold, silver, mercury glass, crystal etc…) and then took all the colored ornaments and set them aside for the kids tree.  Believe it or not, I have ornaments of Mickey, Green Bay Packers, Santa with cowboy boots and lasso, and a variety of other “fun” ornaments I think the kids will have a great time with.

The majority of ornaments on the tree are neutral.  I went out and purchased a few more and didn’t even feel guilty because I know they will work for years to come.

Tip 4:  Add a Pop of Color

I know I just finished telling you that neutral is the way to go…and it is.  But an entirely neutral tree may be a little bit too neutral for even me.  Pick an accent color that pops with your decor.  This year, I chose a pretty pale pink.  Reds really don’t work with my decor and why force them to?   With so many options for Christmas decor, you can almost choose any color you want.

Find a few ornaments that highlight your accent color choice and add them in.  I found this sweet ornament which was really my jumping off point.  I bought a box of 12 pale pink ball ornaments and a box of 12 brighter pink ball ornaments. I think my total “pink” investment in tree ornaments this year was about $25, mostly because of these sweet birds I found at Target.

Tip 5:  Ribbon is your Friend

Ribbon adds so much to a tree which is why it made my Christmas tree ideas list this year.  Ribbon can take a nice tree and elevate it to a spectacular tree.

It adds so much interest and really helps your eye move from the top of the tree to the bottom.  I like to use a few different types of ribbon on a tree to give it some interest.  I’m always on the hunt for pretty ribbon and found some really stunning ribbon at Tuesday Morning (this is not a post for them but they are just a mile up the road from me).

The trick is to move the ribbon around the tree and not just go from top to bottom.

So there you have it!  My 5 Christmas tree ideas to help you re-work your old tree into something new.  My favorite part of this is that if I change out the pink ribbon and a few ornaments I can make the tree look totally different.  I guess it’s like having a staple color in your wardrobe to build upon.

 

Get ready for some fun and exciting posts here on Slightly Coastal.  I have lots of fun decor tips, room views, makeovers, and some awesome blog hops coming up in the next few weeks!

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